I operate a site that is a popular destination for pricing used bikes (and other things)[1] and this is a pretty big problem. We get our pricing data from listi

I operate a site that is a popular destination for pricing used bikes (and other things)[1] and this is a pretty big problem. We get our pricing data from listings for bikes, but without ever seeing the bikes it's hard to come up with a way to infer quality that will lead to more consistent pricing. The fact that sellers shade the quality of their bikes isn't the only problem (although it's a significant one), a lot of times they don't even know the quality of the bike they have, whether the derailleur is close to failing, for example. In a way, it's worse than the auto market, because with the auto market the price has been enough to justify the creation of services to certify the quality of used cars. I think you could probably ask for an inspection from a bike shop on the quality of the bike, judging the shop based on the Yelp reviews or how trustworthy they are considered in your particular community, though (many people trade bikes in online enthusiast forums, in the same way that cars are). But this would only be worth it for very high end bikes. 1: http://www.statricks.com http://www.statricks.com